Rock Between Us (Stardew Valley Fanfic)

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It wasn't as if there was a sudden earthquake to make his sister trip, yet there she was, tripping over her own bag.

Yuichiro let out a sigh, walking slowly towards Sannan, who slowly sat up. He half expected her to be crying; the image of when she'd tripped and fell when they were younger suddenly appeared in his head, their older brother always right there when he was nearby.

And—

The corner of his mouth twisted, remembering how uncomforting their older brother could be in those moments, dressed in the traditional clothing, always picking the dark ones out despite his young age, kneeling like some spector, waiting for Sannan to stop crying before asking if she was alright, his timing always off.

Yuichiro rubbed the back of his head. "Yup. Wonderful older brother, wasn't he, but he did try, didn't he?"

Stepping over to where he could now see Sannan's face, Yuichiro could see someone else trying. There were a few tears in the corners of her eyes for a while. Her eyes said she was bound and determined to stubbornly show she wouldn't cry over such a little thing.

"You okay, little one?"

"Yes!"

He watched her stand, a bit awkwardly, carefully taking in the scrapes on the palms of her hands and her knees. "I don't like how scraped up they are, and we've still got to find out where he lives as he's not messaged us back. The boy, is this going to be a surprise."

"Ow!"

A slight laugh came out of his mouth as one of her eyes closed slightly.

"Not funny!"

"I'm not laughing because it's funny, but more of how you're underestimating the damage. Let me take your suitcase, so you can focus on walking at your own pace."

"But..."

"Oh? So you'd let him take your suitcase for you, but not me?" he asked, smirking as he did so, knowing the entire time that would work as Sannan pouted at him, never being the one to like upsetting either one of her brothers, although she did favor him. "Not that I mind."

"Fine."

And with that, he found himself pulling both of their luggage along, headed in the direction Sannan started in—East, hoping that was indeed the right direction. And soon, he saw buildings, although he had no idea what they were from where they were. He turned his head, pushing his lips together as he watched Sannan walk stiffly, almost as if not to aggravate her scraped-up knees as she walked, to which he held back a chuckle.

"Hi!" exclaimed a boy with red hair who hurried up.

Yuichiro stared, knowing full well he was a complete stranger to the boy, yet he was acting as if he weren't. "Um, hi?"

"What's your name?" Sannan asked.

The boy blinked, looking at her before saying, "Who are you?"

"You ask her?"

"Well, duh," the boy rolled his eyes. "I'll go tell Sam!"

"What?" Yuichiro frowned, watching the boy take off to the south just as a breeze blew from that direction, bringing with it the smell of salty sea air.

"That was weird."

"Agreed," Yuichiro said, glancing over at his younger sister, who was frowning, her palms held out. "You know, those scrapes actually look pretty bad, so we should really should get some first aid for them."

"I'm fine."

"He'll fret the moment he sees them, to the point of becoming a complete basket case, and I don't want to see him like that."